RADIO WAVES

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, November 18, 2007

Peter Laufer, author of "Inside Talk Radio: America's Voice or Just Hot Air?" has had talk shows on KNEW, KSFO, KSAN and other Bay ARea stations and was a reporter for ABC, CBS and NBC radio networks.

Peter Laufer, author of "Inside Talk Radio: America's Voice or Just Hot Air?" has had talk shows on KNEW, KSFO, KSAN and other Bay ARea stations and was a reporter for ABC, CBS and NBC radio networks.

Photo: Carol Publishing Corp.

RADIO WAVES

1 / 2

Back to Gallery

TALKIN' THE TALK: Peter Lauferwrote "Inside Talk Radio: America's Voice or Just Hot Air?" in 1995. Laufer knows his stuff. He got into radio at the first full-time talk station, KNEW (910 AM), in the mid-'60s, when he was still in high school. He helped write newscasts, and went on to work at KSFO, KSAN and other local stations. He became a reporter for ABC, CBS and NBC's radio networks. He helped create talk stations in Berlin and Amsterdam. Today, he juggles three shows: "Washington Monthly," which he co-hosts weekly on XM and terrestrial stations; "Business Shrink," on Sirius satellite, and "Sunday," a live program he hosts on KPFA (94.1 FM) from 9 to 11 a.m. And, having written a stack of books, he's just chipped in a chapter on talk radio to a broadcasting textbook.

So he's qualified to offer an update on the state of talk radio - albeit from a decidedly left-of-center viewpoint. With conservative Glenn Beckon the verge of a reported $50 million, five-year deal with Clear Channel's Premiere Radio Networks, and with Don Imusmaking his return, via WABC in New York, in early December, Laufer and I met at the Johnny Rockets in the Marina the other day to chew the fat. Well, I did. Laufer ordered a sensible veggie burger.

"Twelve years ago, I wrote the book as a cautionary tale," he begins. "I have a love-hate relationship with radio. The medium is magic, but it's so susceptible to demagoguery. We were seeing that 12 years ago, but we couldn't have imagined that it would be so egregiously misused. At the same time, there's valuable, creative, productive work being done. You can't blame the medium. It's those who are manipulating the medium."

Like who? "Two things are going on," he replies. "Grotesque amounts of money are being made on the public airwaves by private business, and many of those private companies are amoral, in terms of what they put on the radio."

Laufer's not referring to on-air obscenities. "It's the selfish demagoguery of a Michael Savage- who makes Rush Limbaughlook like Mr. Rogers - and that ilk, misusing the medium by any societal norm."

That "ilk," Laufer says, does not necessarily reside on the right wing of things. "It's not a right or left issue; Michael Savage and his ilk is not right or left in terms of politics. He's irresponsible. He's also fascinating to listen to, as radio theater. But often, today, talk radio is abrogating its responsibilities."

Meantime, Air America, the liberal talk radio network, continues to struggle for survival. "Air America," Laufer says, "is unfortunately suffering from so many internal errors, a domino effect of management errors, so that what it's accomplished in programming has been eclipsed by its business errors. It's all but an inconsequential player compared with everything else that's out there."

Laufer has no problems with talk hosts like Melanie Morgan, the incendiary morning co-host on KSFO (560 AM), going to rallies and jawing with anti-war protesters. "There's nothing wrong with engaging other citizens," he says. "That Melanie Morgan is on the air on KSFO engaging in demagogic, erroneous broadcasting, with her lackey, Lee Rodgers- or is she his lackey? You pick - is an abuse of the license by the owner and operator. That they are not called to task for that by listeners and by government is just one more example of the unfortunate era that we're in, regarding government being in bed with industry."

But talk-show hosts can argue that they're entertainers, not journalists, and that they're exercising their free speech rights, along with their listeners.

Laufer won't have it. "First of all, the free speech issue. Who, who's been jumping up and down on a station talking about the First Amendment, has read the First Amendment recently? It refers only to a citizen vis-a-vis the government. There is no First Amendment right for Melanie Morgan and her ilk to be on the radio. That's a business relationship. The second thing: These guys try to have it both ways. They pretend that they are not journalists, that they are entertainers, and they hide behind that moniker in an attempt to protect themselves. When you say, 'This is what's happening,' and use that voice of authority and combine it with the fact that you are dealing with news and information, that makes you a journalist by default. You can't sit there and talk about what is going on in the world and do it in the guise that you are providing entertainment."

A show like Michael Krasny's on KQED-FM, Laufer says, proves that demagoguery is not necessary for success. But sensationalism, he says, "can be done on the cheap and draw attention to the radio station. All you need is one obnoxious screamer and you can have a successful talk show. If you're going to operate a show like Krasny's, you need a little more work done, and that's gonna cost you more, and your bottom line is not gonna look as good. These guys that put this stuff on the radio are greedy and amoral. And that's wrong."

As for what's right with talk radio, Laufer can wax almost rhapsodic. "As a medium," he says, "nothing compares with radio, because of the unique ability of radio to stimulate the imagination and to allow the user to engage in other activities while participating in the programming. Live radio interacting with the audience has no equivalent in any other medium. That excitement, that extemporaneous street theater that we engage in on the radio is magic and it's powerful. It can be life-changing."

"SEED" REPLANTED: Just a couple of months after launching "Green Seed Radio," a daily, hourlong show devoted to environmental news and interviews, KKGN ("Green 960") found itself looking for a replacement, while "Green Seed" moved down the dial to KTRB (860 AM). "We had contractual issues and parted ways," said Bob Agnew, program director of KKGN (formerly "The Quake") via e-mail. "We are developing our own show that we will control instead of having (an) outside paid program decide the content." He was apparently referring to "Green Seed's" sponsor, Green Building Exchange of Redwood City. On KTRB, "Green Seed Radio" becomes a two-hour program, airing Saturdays (10 a.m. to noon), hosted by Mo Mellady, founder of PlanetCheck Media, which provided programming for Air America a couple of years ago. Mellady also has appeared on KITS (Live 105) and KLLC (Alice@97.3).

RANDOM NOTES: Fans of Ralph Barbieri, rejoice. The longtime KNBR sports talker known as "The Razor" (for his not-so-dulcet voice) has re-upped for four more years on "THEEEEE Sports Leader." Alongside the excellent Tom Tolbert ("Mr. T."), Barbieri holds down afternoon drive (3 to 7 p.m.) on KNBR. ... Hawaiian country: New evening DJ at KBWF ("The Wolf" at 95.7 FM) is Keola, a native of Honolulu who joins the country station from Top 40 KBKS in Seattle. Keola, who's on weekdays from 7 p.m. to midnight, has also logged time in Stockton, at KWIN. ... If the Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen can have 24/7 satellite channels of their own, why can't Led Zeppelin? And so it does. "XM LED" has begun rocking on XM's Channel 59. ... I mistyped when I wrote that Mark Nieto, the traffic reporter, is on KSAN (107.7 FM "The Bone")'s morning show. He actually does his jamming on KFRC (106.9 FM) and sister MOViN (99.7 FM). ... On "Selvin On the City" tonight, Joel Selvin spins one-hit wonders, like "Black Betty" by Ram Jam, "Tired of Toeing the Line" by Rocky Burnette, and "Hocus Pocus" by Focus. The magic begins at 11 p.m. on "The Bone."

RADIO HORRORS: "I Was a TV Horror Host," the latest book by John Stanley, longtime Chronicle feature writer, is true to its title. Stanley recounts his six ghoulish years as host of "Creature Features" on KTVU, beginning in 1979. But radio history fans will also enjoy his chapter on "Horror Hosting B.T. (Before Television)," spanning "The Shadow" in the early '30s through "The Whistler," "Lights Out," "The Mysterious Traveler," "Arch Oboler's Plays," "The Haunting Hour" and "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar." Radio drama series died out in the early '60s, but "Arch Oboler" lived on, in syndication, until 1970, as "The Devil and Mr. O." The book is available at www.stanleybooks.net.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.